Mnes's Reef (Graphic Intense)

[Mnesarchus]

(pics are small, camera doesn't take very good res)

 

Well, I finally got my camera to work on my computer and got some photos to show everyone. First of all, the tank specs:

 

10g AGA

16 lbs Samoa Liverock

15 lbs Pink Fuji Aragonite

75w EBO Jager

Maxi-Jet 600

2 x 55w PC (6500k, Actinic 03)

 

-Tank water is 3 Stage Reverse Osmosis

 

 

Here is a pic of the second day after adding my liverock:

 

 

Now, the hood. It was made by a friend of mine out of surgical grade Stainless Steel. It weighs about 8lbs. I needed a custom hood so I could fit the 55w bulbs over a 10g tank.

 

After I drilled the holes:

 

After I primed it:

 

After I painted it:

 

After I added the lights. My idea that then entire inside would be a reflector due to the shiny nature of stainess was correct, as you can see:

 

The rock looked really cool with the hood and Acintic only on, lots of caves for inverts and fish:

[Mnesarchus]

Added my featherduster a week or so later:

 

The tank a few days ago:

 

The Trumpet Coral added after 5 weeks:

Filter feeder:

Actinic Only:

 

Urchin, Candycane, And Shrimp:

 

----

 

Well, thanks for looking! Comments please!

[ross76053]

Hey, nice setup! Question - what are you feeding your Trumpet, and how often?

 

Ross

[Dave ESPI]

and yer concerned about an urchin being a clutz in that??? dude thats silly. ya have like 3 corals tops. Diadema are actualy quite nimble, the Spines are their defence. They wouldnt break them if they could help it. ferget about "Dumping" an inhabitant and try focusing on husbandry and proper habitat / techniques for keeping inverts. Yer Trumpet is in the complete wrong space. Sand MAY hold it, but it should be up on a rock area. Bristles and other substrate dwelling inverts will CHOW on them, and any sand that is blown on top of the coral will cause irritation and a lot of muchus to be produced to remove it off.

.Slow down... sit back, plan yer reef ask potential issue questions THEN add stuff.

If possible pick up Anthony Calfo's BOOK of CORAL Propigation Vol 1. ( I just read it O, its good.) It will teach ya more than any dopey on line bullit'n board if ya REALLY want to know about captive reefs. The one Im working on is frighteningly similar in many chapters !* Im not tryin to be hard on ya Chris, just wannah see ya have the tank yer dreamin of with-out the "Tim Burtonesque" Nightmare.

 

Just MHO.... o'course I could be right.X)

ps: Nice Start ! The Stainless top is kick ass!

 

EDIT: ya need to put a top-glass on that bad boy .

[rano]

That hood ROCKS! Very cool. Do you need oven mitts to move it, tho? And if that's a fan on the side, is it noisy? I'd have clear-coated it so it looked like something made by braun, but then I didn't figure out a way to get something that cool. Again, very nice.

 

Gotta agree about the urchin. They're mobile, big (yours looks to be a a youngin'--he'll grow), clumsy, eat corraline, and they have needles all over them. Not so great for very confined spaces.

[Mnesarchus]

Originally posted by Dave ESPI

Slow down... sit back, plan yer reef ask potential issue questions THEN add stuff.  

 

EDIT: ya need to put a top-glass on that bad boy .

 

I did plan my reef. For 4 months. And 4 months before that I started research. :

 

Why do I need to put glass on it? I have been told that glass stops some of the light from going to my photosynthetic animals.

[Metznreef]

your hoods like that sunny delight commercial "unleash the power of the sun" by the way nice aquascaping

[jovis67]

tanks looks good

but your rock looks awsome where did you get it??

nice job overall good luck

[Mnesarchus]

Originally posted by jovis67

tanks looks good

but your rock looks awsome where did you get it??

nice job overall good luck

 

I got the rock from my LFS (the best LFS in the world!!). It's Samoa Liverock and I got it for $5.99/lb.

[Kapelakin]

That hood is awesome! I don't know about glass, but a thin piece of clear acrylic would make a good splash guard to protect your lights from salt creep, and generally prevent corrosion in your lighting system. It's also easier to get the salt creep off a sheet of acyrlic than off of PC bulbs.